Improving Education Today: The Deep Dive

Angela and Davey reflect on a recent blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff who is concerned about the increasing likelihood of special education litigation stemming from pandemic-related service disruptions. Dr. Knoff has been an Expert Witness on over 25 different federal special education or school law court cases since 1993. Your Hosts then move on to discuss Dr. Howie's experience that some school dist...

Davey and Angela begin this Podcast by discussing Sesame Street and the broadcast's commitment to only airing evidence-based instructional approaches. They then contrast this with the dangers of implementing untested educational programs that are based on popularity rather than evidence. Based on a Blog by Dr. Howie Knoff, your Hosts then outline the lack of empirical evidence supporting the effec...

Angela and Davey examine the detrimental effects on students when there are inflexible state education policies that force schools into "one size fits all" processes. The specific example discussed focuses on how many state departments of education evaluate districts on the percentage of students who graduate in four years. The discussion is grounded on a blog written by Dr. Howie Knoff who argues...

Davey and Angela discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's July 8, 2023 blog that analyzes current research, concluding that Restorative Discipline (a) has largely been a media-fed bandwagon that (b) has never been validated through methodologically-sound research, (c) included many past, effective classroom management strategies in its branding efforts, and (d) has been maintained by a “group contagion bandwagon...

Davey and Angela examine the long-standing issue and reality of the disproportionate school disciplining of Black students. Reflecting the analyses and thoughts of Dr. Howie Knoff, a key finding is that teacher bias, particularly among less experienced white teachers in schools with high minority populations, contributes significantly to this disparity.  Your Hosts review two new research studies,...

Angela and Davey continue their recent discussions on teacher training, coaching, supervision, tenure, and post-tenure activities. Today, the focus is on keeping post-tenure teachers actively involved as leaders in schools' continuous improvement processes. Based on Dr. Howie Knoff's recent blog post, your Hosts outline seven interdependent areas crucial for continuous school improvement. These ar...

Angela and Davey discuss what should happen after teachers earn tenure. . . so that they continue to improve and maintain their instructional effectiveness. The discussion is based on Dr. Howie Knoff's blogs advocating a new approach to teacher evaluation and professional development. . . shifting from a model that focuses largely on "time-in-rank" to a performance- and outcomes-based model emphas...

Davey and Angela do a "Deep Dive" to discuss how to improve the tenure process for new teachers such that they earn tenure based on products and demonstrable outcomes. Guided by Dr. Howie Knoff's recommendations for improving teacher recruitment, evaluation, and tenure, your Hosts discuss the need for a multi-year induction program for new teachers. They differentiate these teachers as "novice," "...

Angela and Davey discuss the process whereby districts and schools recruit and hire new teachers, and then introduce and orient them to their new school and responsibilities. Much of their discussion is based on a blog post from Dr. Howie Knoff, President of Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions. Your Hosts examines the shortcomings of current teacher recruitment, training, and evaluation methods,...

Angela and Davey analyze and discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's January 28, 2023 blog post which critiques the ineffectiveness of widely adopted school programs like PBIS and SEL. Dr. Howie argues that these programs often lack rigorous research support, produce inconsistent results, and are marketed more effectively than they actually work.  Your Hosts discuss and describe Dr. Howie's advocacy for a direc...